Living with Serpents
by SilverFangirloftheNight
Summary: Now that Cole is no longer a ghost, it seems they might finally have peace. But when it's revealed to Cole that he isn't human, his life gets turned upside down. How will Cole learn to cope with his new body? How will his teammates? And will he be able to accept the loss of his humanity, or will his world come crumbling down around him. Rated T to be safe, and possible ships later.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: "The Strange Letter"

Things had been pretty peaceful for the ninja, lately. Ever since Cole had finally stopped being a ghost, after being stuck in his primordial form for so long, things had finally been able to resemble some level of being normal. Sure, running from fangirls did get tiring, but at least now Cole could actually feel himself getting tired. And that was just the way he liked it. He liked being able to eat and drink again, it was refreshing. And not to mention finally being able to touch water again, without having to worry about certain death!

It was very nice, and Cole relished it. While normally, the group of ninja, especially Kai, wouldn't be too interested in having nothing to do, they actually quite welcomed it. Running from fangirls was a lot easier than running from sky pirates and ghosts. And after all the traumatic events that has transpired, they were content just to relax, and do whatever crazy acting work Dareth gave them.

Lately, while they hadn't had much trouble, Cole had been feeling weird. He had been eating more than usual, and had been having constant stomach cramps. To try to take his mind off it, he had been overworking himself with exercise. And for the moment, it seemed to have worked.

At the moment, the crew was hanging out at Lloyd's place, all casually talking between themselves. Some of them discussed the events that had transpired recently. Others were discussing completely unrelated topics. Meanwhile, Cole and Jay were talking about a certain female water ninja. Cole was feeling fine, for the moment.

"It'd just be so awkward asking her out again, you know? Besides, I think me and Nya are getting along really well again, and I don't want to ruin it now!" Jay said. He had been oddly happy the past couple weeks. Probably because him and Nya had started spending more time together. Cole nodded in understanding. While it was obvious Jay still had the hots for her, he was more comfortable now about being in the friendzone than he had been before.

Cole also wasn't really upset about it. He had to admit, asking her out himself would be pretty awkward too. The two had sort of just unanimously decided not to try to get romantically involved, for it was sort of flawed relationships that had gotten Nya almost killed in the first place. But that was over and dealt with, thank god.

Jay and Cole's relationship had also gotten better since then. Overall, even though they had started off rocky, everyone had managed to grow closer, as both a team and as friends. Not to mention they had grown much stronger since they had fought Nadakahn, even if that time line had been erased. It had certainly been a journey.

As they all laid about, lounging around nonchalantly, there was a sudden knock on the door. Kai blinked. They weren't expecting anyone. "I'll get it!" said Lloyd quickly, heading to the door. Everyone waited, listening to the faint conversation that could be heard from the entrance. When Lloyd came back, he was holding a package, with a letter tied to the top.

He glanced over at Cole. "Uh, Cole, this is for you, apparently. It says its from your dad." he said, walking over and handing the package to the confused Cole. He hadn't been expecting anything from his father. Curious, he looked it over. He carefully untied the letter from the box. "Huh, he never told me about anything he was planning to give me… I saw him like… two weeks ago." Cole said quietly, eying the package.

Taking apart the letter, he opened it. The message inside was…. Interesting, to say the least, and it left Cole even more confused than before.

 _Dear Cole,_

 _I have something very important I need to tell you. I was planning to tell you when you came to visit me a couple weeks ago, but things came up. I can't share this message over letter, so I would prefer if you were able to meet up with me somewhere, as soon as you can._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Lou_

Cole raised an eyebrow. Why hadn't his father told him this when he had visited him? It didn't add up. Why hadn't he said anything sooner? There was something particularly unnerving about the way the letter was written. This wasn't like his father's handwriting. It looked different, rushed, almost. Before Cole could start worrying, Jay noticed the look of confusion on his face, and curiously plucked the letter from his hands. Cole glared at Jay, but didn't object.

After reading it, Jay, as well, looked confused, "He's asking you to meet him? Didn't you guys meet like, a week ago, after that whole fiasco with Yang?" he asked.

Curious, Kai came over, leaning over Jay's shoulder to read the letter. "Huh. Do you have any idea why he might want to talk to you in person?" Kai questioned.

Again, Cole shook his head, "No. And if it's as important as he says, why didn't he just tell me in the letter? This all seems oddly suspicious," he added. Something about this didn't make sense, though. He glanced worriedly down at the letter again.

"Maybe I should head over there to check on him. It shouldn't take me more than an hour to get over there, if I go by dragon. And he did say to be there as soon as possible…." Cole commented, fiddling with the letter.

"Wait, Cole," Nya said, sitting down next to him, "you shouldn't act so rashly on this. Your dad didn't sound too panicked in the letter, right? If it really was urgent, he probably would have chosen some different wording, right?"

This only made Cole more unnerved, "But what if it's a trap Nya? Obviously they wouldn't try to make it seem like my dad was in trouble if it was." the earth ninja wasn't entirely sure why he was being so paranoid. It's just, things like this didn't normally happen.

"What makes you think it's a trap, anyway, Cole?" Jay asked, leaning against the sofa, "Maybe your dad just needs to talk to you about something he forgot when you visited. It can't be that bad. It happens, you know."

"Maybe, but there was something off about his handwriting. I mean, this looks like my dad's handwriting, but at the same time, it doesn't…." Cole trailed off. Maybe he was being paranoid. He shook his head. "Regardless, he did say I needed to be there as soon as possible. And there isn't anything I need to be doing right now…."

Nya gently touched Cole's shoulder, "Well, even if it is a trap, we need to be prepared. Besides, it's already 6: 20. It'll be dark by the time you get there. I suggest we all stay the night, and then we can head out tomorrow."

"You mean _I_ can head out tomorrow," Cole corrected, "If it is something he needs to talk to me about, I don't think he wants a crowd."

"Well, he never said anything about us tagging along," Jay said cheerily, pointing out the loophole.

As much as he hated to admit it, Jay was technically right. As important as he made it out to be, his father hadn't said anything about being alone. Which was another thing that might tip off that there wasn't something wrong.

And maybe Cole was just being a little paranoid.

I mean, could you blame him? After everything that had happened, with all the ghosts and djinns, it could make anyone a little on edge. After all, something always seemed to show up, just when they thought they could relax.

Sighing, Cole nodded, "Right, fine, I'll stay here tonight," he then looked down at the package.

"The letter didn't say anything about that, did it?" Jay asked.

Cole shook his head. "Maybe he wants me to open it when I see him again? But why would he send it to me and not just give it to me?" the earth ninja questioned. When he looked at the others, they only shrugged, unsure of what to do. Something in Cole made him wince a bit. That nausea was coming back to bite him...

Man, they sure wished sensei was here. Or Misako. The two had gone out for the night to pick something up, and wouldn't be back until tomorrow. So maybe waiting would be a good idea after all. They could get Wu's input on all of this. And maybe he would agree that Cole was overreacting. But Cole couldn't get rid of a strange gnawing feeling in the back of his head.

Picking the box up, Cole said, "Alright. It's decided then. We'll head out to my dad's place tomorrow." As everyone nodded, Cole suddenly winced, falling to his knees. Everyone looked shocked, unsure of what happened.

"Cole! Are you okay?" Kai asked. Zane rushed over to Cole, leaning down, attempting to provide support. Cole took deep breaths, leaning against the Ice ninja.

"Y-yeah. I've just been having these weird cramps lately. Maybe that's just me adjusting to being human again. I'll be fine," Cole said, offering a weak smile to the ninja. The others nodded slowly, watching Cole with concern. Zane helped him up.

"I would advise that you get some rest, Cole, you don't look so well," Zane commented. Cole himself felt much worst than he had been recently. And just when he thought he was getting better. He grunted in reply, breathing heavily. His eyes were half closed, as he rested his head on the nindroid's shoulder. He was starting to feel light headed.

Jay exchanged a look with the others. "Cole, are you sure you're okay? You look a little pale there, bud," the ninja of lightning commented.

Cole groaned, wincing again. Damn, this pain was starting to get intense. Maybe it was something he ate. "A-ah, yeah. Ugh…. I think… I need to lay down," he managed to say in between breaths, which had become labored.

The earth ninja's strange and sudden pain concerned the others, and Zane exchanged a look with his brothers, before he looked back down at Cole, "I'll help you to your room, Cole." he told him. Cole could only nod slightly in agreement, leaning heavily on Zane as the two walked slowly to the other room.

Lloyd watched them go, noticing that Cole had dropped the box. He picked it up, and set it on the counter, sighing.

"The universe just doesn't seem to like to leave us a dull moment, does it?" Jay said, exasperated, throwing his hands up in the air, chuckling slightly.

Kai smirked, "You signed up for this when you decided to become a ninja, ya goof."

The two went on to start a conversation, with Nya joining in, but Lloyd was too lost in thought, leaning against the side of the counter. He was mostly worried about what was wrong with Cole, but there was something else that unnerved him. Something about the package. He took another look over his shoulder, staring at it. It sat there, in perfect silence, as if daring him to open it.

Lloyd knew it was silly to think like that, but somehow the box seemed to be…. Taunting him. He shivered, and turned back to the others. Maybe some conversation would distract on him. And he would be able to check on Cole in the morning. Everything would turn out peachy.

Meanwhile, In Cole's room, the earth ninja was rolling around, groaning. Zane was watching him, sitting on the side of his bed. He looked worried.

"Cole, I think you may need a doctor," Zane said, grabbing his shoulder gently.

Unfortunately for the nindroid, Cole was stubborn. He shrugged him away, panting heavily, "I-I'm fine, Zane. I-I just need rest..." he said, closing his eyes, pulling the sheets closer. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

Zane sighed, "Alright. I'll let you rest. But if you need anything, call me, okay?" Cole didn't answer, but the nindroid heard a slight groan in response.

Getting up, Zane moved to the door. He paused, looking over at Cole again. His back was turned to Zane, so he couldn't see his friend's face. It pained him to see his friend so sick. Yet it also confused him. How and why had Cole gotten so sick all of a sudden. He hadn't been doing anything in particular to do so, and he had been acting fine earlier….

Still watching Cole, Zane flipped the light switch, swallowing the ninja up in darkness. And despite the burning sensation in his stomach, but some odd miracle, Cole was able to quickly fall asleep…

* * *

The next morning, as sleep started to wearily creep away from Cole, the first thing he noticed was that he felt significantly better. It was as if sleep had helped to cleanse his body. Heck, he even felt stronger. Rubbing his eyes softly, he let out a groan.

But…. Something was off. As consciousness began to return to him, he felt a weird sensation in his legs. They felt…. Numb. It took him a moment to register this. For a moment, he sat in silence, on the bed, looking distantly over at the other side of his room. His eyes were still have closed, and he was still quite dazed a groggy.

After a minute, when Cole's mind started to regain sense, he felt like something was definitely off. His whole lower body felt numb. In an experiment, he tried to move his toes. But felt nothing. And obviously, Cole began to panic. But he had bigger problems than not feeling his toes.

He couldn't feel his legs.

But the panic he felt when he first his eyes widened and hurled the covers off himself was nothing compared to the panic that rose tenfold when he saw what was underneath them.

There were no legs.

Only a tail.

A purple tail.

A scaly tail.

The tail of an anacondrai.

And then, there was screaming.

* * *

 ***Screams* Oh wow, this chapter, man. I was planning on finishing my cover art before I finished this chapter, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this tangled mess. And yes, this does take place after Day of the Departed, in case you couldn't already tell. Tell me what you guys think of this story! Does it have potential? Is it absolute garbage? Who knows! 3**


	2. Chapter 2

Zane was awoken by the sound of screaming from the other room. His eyes fluttered open, and he sat up with a start, looking around in a frenzy. That was Cole's scream! Worried, Zane hurriedly got out of bed, rushing to his friend. Was he in trouble? Was he in more pain? He knew he shouldn't have left him last night.

Meanwhile, Cole was pretty much hyperventilating. As soon as he saw the tail, he started flailing about, with the tail practically smacking him in the face. The sudden freaking out had caused him to fall off the bed with a loud yelp.

He landed on the wood floor with a grunt. He groaned, lifting his body up tentatively, and rubbing his head. Something felt off, though. His head felt… longer than it had before. He couldn't quite describe the feeling. When he lowered his hand, he noticed that it was purple, and scaly, making his stomach turn.

Now that he had quite literally been smacked back to reality, he shook his head a bit, and slowly looked over his shoulder, almost fearfully, behind him, quietly hoping that maybe it had just been a dream. Quietly hoping he would see legs.

It wasn't. And there was still a tail.

Why did he have a tail? Why was his skin purple? Why did his head feel weird? Why did everything have to happen to him!

With Cole still dazed, and quite honestly, very confused and freaking out, he didn't hear the footsteps heading to his door. That was, until it was too late, and he heard a gasp coming from door. He spun around, his heart dropping when he saw Zane standing in the doorway.

Much to Zane's surprise, when he opened the door to Cole's room, his mouth almost dropped. Cole was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was replaced with an anacondrai, who was laying on the floor of the room. At the sound of Zane entering, the anacondrai spun around, staring at him. Zane wasn't good at telling the emotions of snakes, but it was quite obvious the creature was scared and confused.

Zane backed up, growling. "What did you do to Cole?" he asked defensively, raising his hands. Ice crystals formed around him, ready to attack if the strange serpentine tried anything.

Cole's eyes widened when he watched Zane back up. He wouldn't attack him, would he? He quickly tried to defend himself, "Zane! It'ssss me, Cole!" the earth ninja said, wincing slightly when he heard the extended S.

The anacondrai couldn't really control his legs. It was a very weird feeling. LIke he could feel them but he couldn't. He tried to crawl cautiously over to Zane, who was staring at him in disbelief.

The nindroid tensened up, "You're not Cole. I know my friend, and he's no serpentine." Zane took another intimidating step forward. The room was starting to get colder. Cole shivered, nervously looking around the room.

"P-pleasse Zane. I need your h-help..." Cole said pleadingly. Zane paused, staring at the serpentine. It looked quite pitiful, curled up by the bed, looking at him.

There was no way that could be Cole… could it? As Zane began relaxing slightly, the ice around the room began melting, and the temperature began to increase.

Tentatively, Zane took another step forward, "Cole?" he asked.

Before Cole had a chance to respond, the sound of footsteps alerted the two to the doorway. Cole's eyes widened. "Quick! Close the door! I can't let the othersss sssee me like thisss!" Cole hissed out. Zane took another look at the purple serpentine lying on the ground, before nodding, rushing over to the door, and quickly closing it. This was soon followed by knocking.

"Cole! Are you okay? We heard screaming," asked Kai's voice through the door.

Cole, who was struggling to stand up right, was staring nervously at the door, "Y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine!" Cole called back, trying his best to keep his voice calm. He heard shuffling at the door. Unsteadily, he was trying to lift himself up using the support of the bedframe.

The others who had heard or been awoken by the scream were Kai and Lloyd, who were standing outside the door. Nya had heard the commotion and woken up. She walked over to the green and red ninja, still half asleep.

"Hey, what's up with you two? You're going to wake the whole house with all the noise you're making," she commented tiredly. Lloyd gave Nya an apologetic look, while Kai tapped the door, looking over at his sister.

"We heard screaming coming from Cole's room, so we came to check on him," he explained. Nya's eyes widened, "Is he okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine! Now go away!" They heard Cole hiss from the other side of the door. Lloyd looked skeptically at the door.

Kai struggled a bit with the door handle, only to quickly retract it when the handle started dropping in temperature. "Is Zane in there with you? What are you guys doing, because you don't sound fine," the fire ninja said defiantly, trying but failing to open the door again.

Hearing the two trying to open the door, Zane sighed, "We're fine, brothers. Cole and I just need some time alone to… talk about something," he explained, looking over at the purple serpentine once more.

Cole had appeared to at least somewhat gained his balance, continuing to grip the metal of the bed frame for extra support. He was still quite shocked about what had happened, or why. But he was trying to focus on keeping Kai and Lloyd out of the room. He didn't need anyone else knowing about this.

"Are you sure?" said Lloyd. Cole rolled his eyes, and tried to slither over to where Zane was keeping the door shut, "Yessss, I'm sure. I'll…. Be out sssoon." he swallowed when he heard his own voice.

Zane jumped a bit when he saw the serpentine appear beside him. It was certainly no exaggeration saying that the Anacondrai were the biggest snake. He always forgot how big they were.

After some muffled conversation outside, they heard the sound of footsteps, leading away from the door.

Cole let out a sigh of relief, and rested on the door. He then looked back at the….. Thing Zane and him were going to discuss.

"So," Zane said sternly, much harsher than Cole wished he would have, "it looks like you have some explaining to do." he said, raising an eyebrow at the snake. Cole spun around, hissing, clearly agitated Zane didn't believe him.

"I told you already, I don't know what happened! I jussst woke up and boom! No more legsss! You know what, I bet this is Yang'sss fault!" "Cole." "I bet he cursed me or ssssomething." "Cole." "Or maybe it was Morro. You guyssss shouldn't have trusssted him.." "Cole!"

Pausing on his rant, Zane grabbed his shoulders, shaking him slightly, "Cole, calm down. We aren't going to be able to help you if you panic like this," it made Zane a bit worried. Cole had tried to remain calm when the others had came over, but it looked like he was starting to freak out again.

Cole pushed Zane away, shielding his face, "How am I ssssupossed to be calm about thisss? I'm a monssster," he muttered.

Zane's face softened. Tentatively, he approached the nervous snake, carefully wrapping his arms around him. Cole shivered at the touch of his friend, seeing as he was the ninja of Ice. For a moment, he contemplated pushing him away, but decided not to, when Zane leaned down beside him.

"I know you've been through alot… and this is probably confusing, but you can't keep this a secret. The others will find out eventually," Zane pointed out, "And besides…. They won't get mad. I'm sure they'll want to help you."

The anacondrai averted his eyes, taking a deep breath, "I know… I'm jussst…" Cole paused. He couldn't say that in front of Zane. He stared down at his hands. He was conflicted. On one hand, he wanted desperately to figure out how and why this had happened. But on the other hand… part of his mind was scared to see how the others would react if they saw him like this.

Meanwhile, while Cole remained quiet, Zane watched from a distance. His earth brother had turned his head, making it impossible for Zane to see his face, but he could tell that Cole was having a hard time.

And it wasn't like Zane could blame him. The last time something like this had happened, Cole had pretty much gone into a short depression. But at least then they had been given some kind of warning. This had come out of nowhere!

It didn't make much sense to Zane, either. There was no logical reasoning behind it that Zane could find, no matter how much he scourged through his data banks.

After a moment of silence, Zane finally piped up, "Cole, I can leave and come back, if you would like me to." Maybe if he left the ninja alone for a little bit, it would help him calm down.

But Cole was quick to retaliate, whipping around to face Zane almost immediately, "No! I mean… no. I think it would be better if you ssstayed in here. I mean, if you're with me, they're lessss likely to attack..."

Cole noticed Zane shake his head, and narrowed his eyes, "Come on, they totally would! We almost attacked Garmadon when he turned into an anacondrai, who's to say they won't do the same to me?"

"Cole, if they know who you are, they aren't going to attack you," Zane reassured him, "It might freak them out a bit in the beginning, but they'll calm down eventually..."

For a moment, Cole gave Zane a skeptical look, then he sighed, and to Zane's relief, he relaxed a bit. "Yeah, you're right. After everything we've been through together, I should have learned to have a bit more faith in my friends..." he said absently, staring over at the door. His tail flicked a bit in anticipation, and a combination of nerves. Just relax, he thought to himself softly.

" _Come on… you're the ninja of Earth! Besides, if they can handle being around you as a ghost, they can handle this, too… right?"_ Cole tried to think to himself reassuringly. He then looked back up at Zane, who tilted his head at him curiously.

Turning his body over a bit, placing his hands on the ground, Cole gave Zane an apologetic look, "Um, could you, maybe, help me up?" Cole said. If serpentine could blush he'd probably be doing it in embarrassment. It really made him wonder how Garmadon had been able to adjust to his new body so quickly back when they had fought Chen.

Zane smiled, and gladly obliged, holding Cole's hands, and helping the snake up. He wobbled a bit at first, his tail twisting at odd angles in an attempt to get a better grasp of the ground. Then after balancing himself out, he let go of Zane.

Looking back, he examined his body one more time. He especially glanced back at his tail, watching it as he tried to move forward. His movements were awkward though. Zane, meanwhile, had backed up, watching Cole try to learn how to snake.

"Cole, try moving left to right, like a fish," Zane tried to instruct him. Cole flashed a glare at Zane, who blissfully ignored it.

But nonetheless, Cole tried to do as Zane instructed. It was such a weird feeling, since his tail was a lot longer and… more connected that his legs had been. He held his arms out for balance, and slithered forward. It worked somewhat, but he would definitely still need some work.

Hesitantly, Cole approached Zane, lowering his arms. Though, he was still tense, mostly from not being used to the unusual feeling of scales gripping wood. His purple scales flashed slightly in the sun. It wasn't like Zane hadn't seen an anacondrai before. On the contrary, the thought of seeing any of them again made him nervous, but there was something about how Cole looked that made him… sort of calm. He couldn't explain it, but the anacondrai he had turned into kind of had a softer look to it. It was a deep purple color, with the decorative yellow and black underbelly.

Steadying himself, Cole looked up at Zane. He tried to offer a weak smile, despite feeling uneasy. "Okay," he said, a bit of worry concealed in his voice, "If we're going to get help from the others, we might as well go see them now. They're waiting for us, after all."

* * *

 ***Audible screech * Ah, well, that happened. I hope they weren't too out of character. I feel like I may have made Cole freak out more than I should have. But really, can you blame him? He just woke up as an anacondrai, with no warning at all.**

 **I didn't want Cole to be too depressed about his transformation just yet. He's still kind of in shock, in case you couldn't tell. Even if he did agree to go out with Zane, he's still nervous.** **  
**

 **Poor Cole. First a ghost, and now this. And it's barely been three weeks XD Thank god for caring ice nindroids, am I right? :P**


End file.
